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Comment by ihodes | Hacker News Reader

Iced coffee or cold-press? There's a difference, though both are served over ice.

Cold-press is actually brewed cold, and it takes hours to have a well-brewed batch. That is a major reason the costs are different—prep time is much longer, and there are risks associated with preparing food in advance.

Iced coffee, real iced coffee (not cold press), is crap. It's hot brewed coffee refrigerated and/or poured over ice. This messes with the composition of the liquid, and generally causes it to become bitter. (Though if it's espresso, the results are different...)

Mystery solved, perhaps?

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This is right, good iced coffee is made differently and one could imagine that the production costs are different.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/dining/27coff.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iced_coffee#United_States

What the market will bear is one factor; the production costs of iced coffee are another. Both could be relevant.

Unlikely to be cost-plus pricing. It's about what the market will bear

Right. It would have nothing to do with the tangible increase in labor and materials: electricity, space, more grounds-per-oz of coffee.

Come on, really? Yes the price is dependent on what people are willing to pay, but there is a very real and legitimate reason for the drink to cost more.

Come on, really?

Umm, yes? A lot of coffeeshops will charge say 1.50 for an Americano, but 50 cents for an additional shot of espresso in a normal coffee. The only explanation is: That's what the market will bear.

Come on, really?

Yes. There's a great explanation from The Undercover Economist. It's a great read. Highly recommended: http://www.amazon.com/Undercover-Economist-Exposing-Poor-Dec...

Update: Here's a link to the explanation: http://books.google.com/books?id=YAA8hPloNRcC&pg=PA30...

This is a discussion of what the market will bear for Fair Trade branded coffee, not what the production costs for iced coffee are.

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